Envirofit cook stoves

By Joan Letting

We always talk about saving our environment and the ways we can use to do it. We read about the importance of a healthy environment. But just knowing and talking doesn't help. When was the last time you did something towards saving the environment? Forget doing, when was the last time you tried doing something to save nature? Now don't say you always knew there's a need to save the environment. Everyone knows and says. Sadly no one does. Do something that can help save the environment even a small step counts.

Envirofit a cook stove manufacturer in partnership with Kenya’s cookware company, Kaluworks, have unveiled a high quality and efficient wood and charcoal  cook stove to customers across Kenya in a bid to reduce environmental pollution and thus create a healthy environment for the future generations.

The stove which is made from stainless steel and has been engineered to provide robust pot support, stability and safety features to meet the cooking needs of larger families reduces smoke by up to 80 per cent and burns wood up to 60 per cent more efficiently. It also uses less firewood and thus reduces the time women and children have to spend collecting firewood as they require less firewood to cook a lot of food.

The stove is designed to pull air in through its opening and superheat the gases to burn the wood completely. The extra lining around the inner chamber is designed to insulate the stove keeping most of the heat inside. This results in a 230 per cent improvement in thermal efficiency when compared to open fire. This means that more wood will be converted into energy that heats the pot as opposed to being released in the form of smoke and other toxic emissions.

The total saving is approximated to 8,000KSh a year which can be channeled to other uses within the family unit.

According to the Chairman of Kaluworks, Manu Chandaria there has been a lot of demand for cook stoves that reduces smoke and also very efficient. He said that this was the motivation behind the new cook stoves.

“There has been overwhelming demand from customers for an affordable cook stove that saves them time, money and reduces harmful smoke. We are very pleased to serve our rural customers who use firewood for cooking by making the Envirofit Econofire stove available through our retail channels,” said Chandaria.

He added that they conducted extensive consumer research and user acceptance studies to create a brand new product that met what customers wanted and most importantly at a price they can afford.

The arrival of the Econofire marks the first low-cost product to compete with traditional stoves on the market without requiring carbon subsidies. At 2,500-3000Ksh the stove is affordable, and Kaluworks extensive network of distributors and retailers will ensure it is available nationally.

Through this partnership, Kenya finally has a scalable solution with the potential to impact the 36 million people that cook over an open fire thus saving them money, time and lives.

The stoves are now available through Kaluworks distributors and retailers across the country.